The Sunfish Owners Manual by Skipper & Clark

 08 Jun 26:

Sunfish sailboats have been around since 1953 and we have been Sunfishing and restoring the Sunfish since the 1980s.  With close to 500,000 Sunfish built we wondered why there was not an Owners Manual?

So we put together The Sunfish Owners Manual with help from family and friends. The Sunfish Owner's Manual is a one stop resource for the world's most popular sailboat. Inside there are chapters on the History of the Sunfish, and illustrated chapters on how to Buy, Rig, Sail, Maintain, Restore, Store, Transport and Sell the Sunfish. 

The Restore Chapter includes Do It Yourself pictures and step by step details on how to conduct common repairs, including foam replacements and rudder conversions. 

The Manual has an extensive Illustrated Glossary of Sunfish and sailing terms, with 230 photos by the author, taken in the course of numerous Sunfish restorations, for both wooden and fiberglass Sunfish as well as Sailfish. 

The Manual is not only a one stop reference for any Sunfish owner, it would be of interest to owners of other small sailboats as well. 

Brought to you by Small Boat Restoration!

The Sunfish Owners Manual by Kent & Audrey Lewis

Parrel Beads

 07 Jun 26:

Made some parrel beads to hopefully tame the lug rig yard on the Nutshell Pram.

Happenin's Around Skipper's Boatyard

 06 Jun 26:

Five years ago today we rolled into our Virginia place after an 16 hour adventure in SUPER POKEY.  The RV was not a bad way to move, we were in the middle of pandemic and considering we needed to move our pet fish. And the UHaul trailer actually stabilized the ride, dampening sway on our lightly loaded RV. 

Repairing hurricane rash today.

Sanding the grooves.

The green blob is TotalFair fairing compound, we sanded with 80  grit to knock down the big chunks.

Bath time.

Filthy dirt and grime.

7 boats in this photo. Shaping the gunwales on the Bahamas Dinghy.

Webb, Doug and Murray hard at work.

Added a halyard block.

Watering the gunwales to help them take shape.

Hampton University FJs

04 Jun 26:

Hampton University FJs

Bahamas Dinghy Masts and Boom

04 Jun 26:

We got three masts and one boom with the Bahamas Dinghy, we think the medium size mast will work and maybe the boom.

The boom is pretty dry and seems lightly built for the Bahamas sail that we plan to use, we might make a new one based off of Chapelle's drawing.

Rigger Tackle Box

 03 Jun 26:

My Uncle's tackle box, in service since the 1960s in one form or fashion.

Bahama Dinghy Gunwale Dry Fit

02 Jun 26:

Skipper insisted that we dry fit the gunwales...

...which involved a few clamps...

...and supervision.

 Log of HENNING

Boatyard Cat

 01 Jun 26:

The Inspector

WEAR a PFD - Springtime Cold Water Shock

 31 May 26:

We should have menitoned this earlier. Spring water temperatures lag behind air temp, for example in Maine right now the water temp ranges from the upper 40s to low 50s°F (4 to 11°C). It's a beautiful warm day so folks start putting their small boats in the water. At these temperatures, the risk of cold water shock and hypothermia is extremely high and life-threatening.

The Hypothermia and Cold Water Risk

• Cold Water Shock (Immediate Risk): Water conducts heat away from your skin 4 times faster than air. Sudden immersion in 40-50°F water triggers involuntary gasping, hyperventilation, and elevated heart rates, which can lead to drowning in seconds.
• Loss of Dexterity & Incapacitation: In water below 60°F, you can lose the use of your hands and arms in under 10 minutes, making it incredibly difficult to stay afloat or perform self-rescue.
• Expected Survival Time: At 40–50°F, exhaustion or unconsciousness occurs in 30 to 60 minutes, and maximum expected survival time is only 1 to 3 hours.

Essential Safety Guidelines

• Always wear a life jacket: The Coast Guard and Maine Warden Service strongly advise wearing a well-fitting, Coast Guard-approved life jacket whenever we are on or near the water during the spring....(How about all the time when we are on water depths over our head?
• Dress for the water, not the air: Even if the spring air warms into the 60s or 70s, the ocean remains lethally cold. Wearing a wetsuit or dry suit is highly recommended for all on-water activities.
• Track the current data: Before heading out, you can check real-time marine forecasts for the region.

PFD - Wear it.

• End of post quiz...In the photos below, when should we be wearing a PFD?

PFD = Yes

PFD = Yes

PFD = No

PFD = No

PFD = No

?

PFD = Yes

PFD = No

PFD = No

PFD = No

Bottle Jack Fluid Service

30 May 26:

Our little bottle jack leaked all its fluid at one point, so we added some more. We couldn't find bottle jack fluid today, so substituted power steering fluid.

There is a fluid fill hole on the side of the jack, we popped the plug out and filled the jack to the bottom of the hole.

The jack works great again!